GameTrailers: 3 New NCAA Football 08 Videos 06-19-07

[ThaHeelsn04]

http://www.ncaastrategies.com/images/ncaafootball08/gametrailers.jpgGameTrailers has posted several videos of NCAA Football 08; Texas at Texas A&M.


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[Rudy16]

I see they got Colt McCoy's 12 year old-hitting puberty-voice in the game, awesome.

[Mr. Rad]

It seems like it might be easy to bounce outside on runs. Could have been the defensive playcalling, though.

[sayo]

It seems like it might be easy to bounce outside on runs. Could have been the defensive playcalling, though.

That guy sucked at playing defense and was getting beat on the outside playing nickel.

[Rudy16]

That guy sucked at playing defense and was getting beat on the outside playing nickel.

Yeah, he blitzed the ROLB through the DE and DT every play it seemed, leaving the edge wide open with no one there for insurance.

[sayo]

Yeah, he blitzed the ROLB through the DE and DT every play it seemed, leaving the edge wide open with no one there for insurance.

You forgot, he sucked too. [laugh]

[Rudy16]

You forgot, he sucked too. [laugh]

Mhm.

[Fluff E Bunny]

That guy sucked at playing defense and was getting beat on the outside playing nickel.

4-2-5 actually. Those are safeties, not CB's. The offense was running counters and tosses, which generally can go outside. One counter went to where the defense vacated.

[Fluff E Bunny]

Two things I saw:

1) On the toss play, which has the play side OG pulling out, the center crashed into the man lined up over the pulling OG rather than just leaving a gaping hole for the DT to run through. Nice.

2) On the last counter play, the pulling left OG gets out quickly in front of the play, does NOT get hung up on other OL and is in position to make a block on the LB.....but whiffs completely. THe LB was user controlled, so maybe that had something to do with it, or perhaps the low difficulty level. I dunno. But other than the whiff, the blocking is light years ahead of last year. Simply amazing.

EDIT: Third thing:

3) In the defensive line play vid, the pulling left guard on the PA counter does NOT change his block to bail out of the pull, and as a result the blitzing LB on that side comes completely free and destroys the play. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. But I guess if the PA plays are mostly counters, you can try your luck on defense to stop them.

[rhombic21]

Yeah, the blocking looks really solid. You guys are starting to see some of the stuff that I got to see down at EA. I think it's pretty realistic. The linemen isn't always going to be successful in making the block (that would make the running game way too easy, not to mention be unrealistic), but they do a LOT better job of at least attempting to block the right guy. This is a HUGE improvement, because what it means is that if you build and offensive line that can execute your gameplan (ie mobile linemen for a team that runs lots of counters and tosses, bigger linemen for more of a straight ahead man blocking scheme), you should see marked differences in how well the play is blocked. On NCAA 07, I could basically plug any lineman in the game in, and certain plays were never blocked correctly. On '08, those plays will be a lot more rare (if not be completely eliminated), and now it comes down to the ratings of the players on the field, not shitty AI.

[Fluff E Bunny]

Yeah, the blocking looks really solid. You guys are starting to see some of the stuff that I got to see down at EA. I think it's pretty realistic. The linemen isn't always going to be successful in making the block (that would make the running game way too easy, not to mention be unrealistic), but they do a LOT better job of at least attempting to block the right guy. This is a HUGE improvement, because what it means is that if you build and offensive line that can execute your gameplan (ie mobile linemen for a team that runs lots of counters and tosses, bigger linemen for more of a straight ahead man blocking scheme), you should see marked differences in how well the play is blocked. On NCAA 07, I could basically plug any lineman in the game in, and certain plays were never blocked correctly. On '08, those plays will be a lot more rare (if not be completely eliminated), and now it comes down to the ratings of the players on the field, not shitty AI.

I have to admit...I was getting a semi watching the blocking.

[gnperdue]

Hmmm... personally I am not a big fan of booth reviews, and instant replay in general. Does anyone know if there will be a way to just turn all that off (along with intentionally bad calls)?

Also, I know it didn't end up being counted as a fumble, but I'm worried about the fumble. There were waaaaaay too many in '07 for the 360, and it is a tad troubling that of the two new videos I've seen, one (the Gamespot "On the Spot" clip) featured a deep corner roll-out for a 95 yd td, and the second (this one) featured a fumble. Those two sorts of plays were quite broken in '07...

[husker_blitz]

Hmmm... personally I am not a big fan of booth reviews, and instant replay in general. Does anyone know if there will be a way to just turn all that off (along with intentionally bad calls)?
I wouldn't hold your breath on being able to turn it off. Like it or not, instant replay is now part of the college game. There is no reason for EA to make that feature toggle on and off.

Not sure about the 360, but fumbles on the PS2 seemed to tone down after playing a bit as well as knowing when not to juke. There have been several games where no one has fumbled in my games and I never really see a bad fumbling game any more.

[BigOrangeCountry]

From a person who never played a full game of NCAA 2007 on 360 last year because it sucked, this game looks really freakin' good.

[Cory]

Wow this game looks awesome. My only question is how easy it is to run the ball ...it looks like on these videos its pretty easy to get 5 yards.

[gnperdue]

I wouldn't hold your breath on being able to turn it off. Like it or not, instant replay is now part of the college game. There is no reason for EA to make that feature toggle on and off.

Not sure about the 360, but fumbles on the PS2 seemed to tone down after playing a bit as well as knowing when not to juke. There have been several games where no one has fumbled in my games and I never really see a bad fumbling game any more.

Oh I am not holding my breath, just hoping wistfully.

And yeah, it was possible to get fumbles to a manageable level, but they were still excessive. The number of CPU thrown interceptions were also absurd - they made everything but Heisman unplayably easy.

EDIT: It is unfortunate we don't know exactly what difficulty level this. It changes a lot of the guy is on Freshman.

[husker_blitz]

And yeah, it was possible to get fumbles to a manageable level, but they were still excessive. The number of CPU thrown interceptions were also absurd - they made everything but Heisman unplayably easy.

EDIT: It is unfortunate we don't know exactly what difficulty level this. It changes a lot of the guy is on Freshman.
Very true on the first part. There will always be some tweaking to do on this game, that's for sure.

And very true on your second part. It would be nice to know what level they are playing at.

[J Hall]

man. i really want this game

[RUSSELL05]

Something I think a lot of people are missing are the LB play. In Madden07 and NCAA07 LB's and S's would just crash the middle of the field on any running play.

If you watch the LB's in the video not being controlled by the user you can see him actually taking the correct angles and fighting through trash to get to the ball carrier.

I'm really happy to see that on that one toss play to the right pay attention to who makes that tackle its that backside S or LB.

[CFR-116]

now it comes down to the ratings of the players on the field, not shitty AI.

Rhombic, was this your impression of the entire game, ie...each player position?

[bruinfan18]

Man, is it July 17th yet?

[nolesandgators]

Well, I still hate the way the players look and move.


For some reason I thought the release date was July 3rd. [rock]

[gnperdue]

If you watch the LB's in the video not being controlled by the user you can see him actually taking the correct angles and fighting through trash to get to the ball carrier.

LOL, nice point and subtle dig.

[bruinfan18]

For some reason I thought the release date was July 3rd. [rock]

Funny you say that. I have been just going on from what everyone has been saying that the release date is July 17th. And easports.com says the same thing. But when I preordered the game earlier this month at my local gamestop, the dude that worked there said it's released July 3rd as well. :/

[gschwendt]

Funny you say that. I have been just going on from what everyone has been saying that the release date is July 17th. And easports.com says the same thing. But when I preordered the game earlier this month at my local gamestop, the dude that worked there said it's released July 3rd as well. :/

When they first put the game into the system, they always put it as the first Tuesday in July... you'd think it would have already been corrected by now though.

[nolesandgators]

Funny you say that. I have been just going on from what everyone has been saying that the release date is July 17th. And easports.com says the same thing. But when I preordered the game earlier this month at my local gamestop, the dude that worked there said it's released July 3rd as well. :/
Yeah, I think that's why I thought that. I guess I saw the release date at Gamestop. That place sucks.

[Fluff E Bunny]

Something I think a lot of people are missing are the LB play. In Madden07 and NCAA07 LB's and S's would just crash the middle of the field on any running play.

If you watch the LB's in the video not being controlled by the user you can see him actually taking the correct angles and fighting through trash to get to the ball carrier.

I'm really happy to see that on that one toss play to the right pay attention to who makes that tackle its that backside S or LB.

Nice, just re-watched and you're right, the defenders do take better angles and pursuit.

[DVALLEY]

Did anyone else noticed a large number of broken tackles. I saw at least one a play. The only play I didn't see a broken tackle was when McCoy was tackled on the QB Choice play.

[CFR-116]

Did anyone else noticed a large number of broken tackles. I saw at least one a play. The only play I didn't see a broken tackle was when McCoy was tackled on the QB Choice play.

I believe that was something that Rhombic and Cdj had mentioned as well in their review....several broken tackles. I plan on playing at heisman level, so I sure hope the CPU running game isn't all but impossible to stop due to, just too many broken tackles.

[husker_blitz]

I plan on playing at heisman level, so I sure hope the CPU running game isn't all but impossible to stop due to, just too many broken tackles.
I'd just be happy with a consistent computer running game. Either I am holding them to under 50 yards or they are busting my D for 200+.

[J Hall]

Did anyone else noticed a large number of broken tackles. I saw at least one a play. The only play I didn't see a broken tackle was when McCoy was tackled on the QB Choice play.

well couldn't something like that be fixed with sliders though?

[gnperdue]

I'd just be happy with a consistent computer running game. Either I am holding them to under 50 yards or they are busting my D for 200+.

+1.

The trick is, that is tough to address with sliders. The biggest problem with the CPU running is not going to be fixed this year - playcalling. Some of the running plays are just bad, and should never be run. Many more are okay, but will not work with certain offensive personnel (e.g., terribly slow qb running the option out of the spread and acctually keeping the ball, guaranteeing a 5 yard loss when he is met in the backfield). Others won't work against certain defensive personnel or formations.

If the playcalling AI was good enough to recognize all this, we could fix the running game with sliders. As it is, we have to pump up the CPU running back a huge amount to overcome terrible playcalling. As a consequence, when you find a team with intelligent personnel for their playbook and the CPU hits a lucky streak of good playcalls, they destroy a defense.

CPU playcalling in general needs a lot of work. I wish EA would implement some kind of adaptive system by which the computer would eventually stop running plays that consistently get blown up (or at least only run them rarely).

[CFR-116]

I guess afew broken tackles shouldn't be too much to worry about. Two things that ease my mind are....if gang tackling is a fairly big part of the game, you'd think more defenders would have to be in the area of the ball carrier. Secondly, people seem to think the defensive AI is improved for '08' with defenders taking better angles of pursuit, so the defense overall should be better so maybe afew too many broken tackles won't be ruinning things. I also believe I've seen evidents of improved defensive AI, were players seem to responed faster to whats going on. Maybe one of the biggest differences between the college game and the pros is the tackling, so what we've seen so far may turn out to be fairly realistic...as long as it's not over done.

[DVALLEY]

I guess afew broken tackles shouldn't be too much to worry about. Two things that ease my mind are....if gang tackling is a fairly big part of the game, you'd think more defenders would have to be in the area of the ball carrier. Secondly, people seem to think the defensive AI is improved for '08' with defenders taking better angles of pursuit, so the defense overall should be better so maybe afew too many broken tackles won't be ruinning things.

I agree. There has always been another defender there to make the tackle. I'm just worried about one on one situations and a high broken tackle rate. For example, deep outs/Corner against man coverage, broken tackle->TD

I see the swing pass/WR screen having Big Play potential in man coverage. Now with the cut up field control, I see the swing pass being very user friendly.

[DVALLEY]

+1.

The trick is, that is tough to address with sliders. The biggest problem with the CPU running is not going to be fixed this year - playcalling. Some of the running plays are just bad, and should never be run.

Yeah, I can't recall how many times the CPU has called the QB Choice play with a slow QB. Seems like an easy fix: If QB SPD < 80 then NO QB Run Plays.

[collegesports]

Now I didn't play NG NCAA last year, but I did play madden and there was no extended neck pad, only a neck roll. TAMU's #36 in the last vid appears to be wearing an extended neck pad. Not a big deal but it's nice to see an addition.

[tjnitro]

I have an issue with Charles trucking someone. I'm sorry, but he is not a power back. I would much rather see him juke someone out of their socks and outrun everyone else than run slap over a guy, even if it is a DB. I'm having flashbacks of Maddens past where Priest Holmes would drop his shoulder and run over my 300 pound defensive linemen [down] . Please don't let that happen here.

On the plus side, the blocking and defensive reactions do look much improved. :D That will definitely enhance my enjoyment of the game.

[rhombic21]

In all fairness, most of the broken tackles were by Javorskie Lane and aTm's fullback. And Charles is an impact back, so that can somewhat be explained. Plus it looked to me like most of the broken tackles were against CBs and Safeties, but it looked like LBs and DL did a pretty solid job of making tackles, especially when they hit the guy square on. Like I said, we saw some broken tackles in my tournament game, but I was rolling with OU so I had Allen Patrick (impact back with decent power) toting the rock.

[CFR-116]

I'm just worried about one on one situations and a high broken tackle rate. For example, deep outs/Corner against man coverage, broken tackle->TD


Ya I see what you mean DVALLEY. The last thing I want is for the '08' game to be a pinball scoring game. I've got a pretty good feeling that won't be the case. I think if there were a major problem with the tackling [including the situation you mentioned] I think we'd know about it by now, by either our guys or the several people who have by now reviewed the game. I keep hearing and reading the term "solid" to decribe the overall gameplay....so I'm just going to hold on to that.:)

[steelerfan]

I'm sure that tackling will be fixable with sliders. As far as pinball scoring, eh, I got a little concerned when our guys reported a score of like 34-24, or so, in their tournament championship with 4 minute quarters.

[rhombic21]

Title game had 5 minute quarters, and a couple of those TDs were set up by turnovers that either directly resulted in points, or gave somebody possession in the redzone. cdj lost his game 0-3, and I lost mine 14-7 (and one of my opponent's TDs was an INT return for TD). Granted we played 3 minute quarters, but those scores weren't all that out of the ballpark. Generally, scores were pretty low unless it was a huge mismatch in skill, or if somebody got a lot of defensive turnovers/scores.

[rhombic21]

The more that I think about it, the better gameplay seems like it was to me on 360. I really can't wait to get my hands on this game when I don't feel pressure to focus on specific AI issues, and I can just play the game normally.

[Papa LoneStar]

I have an issue with Charles trucking someone. I'm sorry, but he is not a power back. I would much rather see him juke someone out of their socks and outrun everyone else than run slap over a guy, even if it is a DB.


I agree that he's not a power back....but he is capable of breaking tackles by running right into the defender....and that was when he was at 185....now he is rumored to be at 200 pounds so maybe EA recognized that....:D

[DVALLEY]

The last thing I want is for the '08' game to be a pinball scoring game. I've got a pretty good feeling that won't be the case.

I've got a good feeling, too. I'm trying not to make any conclusions based on a couple of clips, but the question had to be asked.

[CFR-116]

I've got a good feeling, too. I'm trying not to make any conclusions based on a couple of clips, but the question had to be asked.

Ya it's great to have good reason to be hopeful again about Ncaa. When watching all the video's, I've been focusing in mainly on the defense looking for better overall AI, ie...better angles of persuit and better reaction time, and I believe I'm seeing that. This is asking for too much I suppose but....I'd love to be playing on heisman level and having some games atleast, that end say....17-10 on 8 minute qrts. Because both defenses, the CPU's and yours is just that dang tough to score on. Thats my Ncaa heaven.